Wanda held up her hand. “I’m Christian. Don’t you dare blaspheme. And don’t quit either. That gets you nowhere and it leaves us in a bind.”
I huffed, crossing my arms and pacing the width of the hall like a caged tiger.
“I don’t like it,” said Wanda. “But we have no choice. Sacred Heart is merging with Sisters of Mercy. The hospital is doing what it has to do to survive.”
“They’re rolling over and doing what they’re told, and that’s not my style.”
“No, it’s not. You think everyone will just bend to your will, but you won’t return the favor. I’ve stuck my neck out for you time after time.”
“Well, you won’t have to do it anymore.”
I turned and marched down the hall. I heard her sigh, but she didn’t follow.
Chapter Twenty-One
My hands shook all the way home. I’d just quit my job. That was my way. See a small flame and throw gasoline on it so I could watch it burn. I was the very definition of a sadist. My favorite victim to inflict pain, suffering, and humiliation upon was myself.
How the hell was I going to pay our bills now? What would happen to our living situation? Why couldn’t I have just accepted their decision and at least continued on with my old job? But, no. I had to burn the bridge as I switched my ass across it.
I pulled onto my street. There was a car at the top of my driveway. I recognized it immediately as Eagle’s. I sighed, but this exhale was one of relief. Getting Eagle on his knees, bending him to my will, was exactly the remedy I needed to cure this fucked up day. I parked in the drive and headed inside.
When I walked in, I stopped in my tracks. Eagle had Toy in his lap. He was stroking her hair and whispering to her. Toy was nodding; her eyes were wide like he was hanging the moon for her.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I demanded.
Toy’s spine straightened and her head snapped up. Guilt shone dark on her face. She moved, likely to drop to the floor in supplication. But Eagle held her still in his lap. When my gaze found his, he was scowling at me.
“Hey, hey,” soothed Eagle as he brought Toy back into his arms. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Just like I promised.”
I saw red. Who the hell did he think he was? I wasn’t one to be stingy with my toys or my Toy. But I would go off if you came into my house and took my stuff without my permission.
I clenched my fists and my jaw. I took a deep breath, but it wasn’t meant to calm me. No, it was meant to unleash a tirade.
I was called up short by Toy’s wide-eyed look of terror. The calm that Eagle had petted into her dropped away from her face and the signs of a panic attack swarmed in. She began rocking her upper body. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She started counting primes.
Eagle didn’t even blanche. He simply put his lips to her temple and made shushing noises. The sight of Toy in a panic with Eagle soothing her made all the anger drain from me.
I saw him with her in his arms and I realized that I wanted to be there instead of standing here on my own. I wanted him to tell me that everything was going to be okay. But I held my place, along in the middle of the room.
“Your mistress and I are going to handle this,” he said.
Toy had only made it to thirty-one. She’d stopped rocking. She wasn’t shaking. Her eyes were open, not squeezed shut.
“Now you go and make your Mistress a cup of tea,” Eagle said. “She looks like she’s had a day.”
Toy turned her gaze to me. Her mouth went pensive. Her eyes dipped. She didn’t move.
I sighed. All of the fight gone from my bones. “Go on, baby girl.”
Toy rose, head down, and went into the kitchen. Both Eagle and I watched her go. Then he turned to me with that scowl. He reached onto the table and held a paper up. It took me a moment to recognize it, but when I did I rolled my eyes skyward.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was a problem?” he demanded, slamming the eviction notice down on the table.
“It’s not your problem.”
“If someone’s got beef with you, then I’m taking a fucking bite out of it.”
“You’re not my family. You’re a guy I fuck.” I wrapped my arms around myself. Though I held still, it felt like everything around me was rocking.
And then I felt arms around me and my world went off kilter. I tried to shove him away, but my fingers got tangled in his shirt. I tried to tell him to go to hell, but my lips got lost in the valley between his pecs.
“I have everything under control,” I insisted.
“Hmm,” he soothed, pressing his lips against my temple and stroking my hair the same way he’d done with Toy.
“I don’t need your help.” But my voice was barely above a whisper since my lips were pressed against the Adam’s apple in his neck. I wanted to take a bite. I was sure he’d let me.
“Well, you’re gonna get my help,” he growled. “Because you have lost your fucking mind if you think I’m going to stand by and watch the two of you be put out on the street. Not if there’s something I can do about it.”
“What if I tell you to get out?” I said.
“Okay. I’ll leave.”
He let me go and I nearly collapsed to the floor. I was loath to admit that for the last few minutes, it had only been his arms and his strength that had been holding me up. The second he took it away, I deflated.
“But I’m taking this.” He grabbed the citation. “My mom’s a judge. I’ll see what she can do about it.”
“Why? Why would you do that? What’s it going to cost me? You want me to be your fuck slave, because I won’t. I’m nobody’s bitch, Eagle.”
He frowned at me. His brows rose in what I had to assume was incredulity.
“I’m going to do it because you’re my friend,” he said. “And that’s what friends do for each other. They help each other out. And they don’t expect anything in return except the friendship. I might be an ass, but I’m not a villain. I’m not trying to be your hero either. Or take away your autonomy. I like your autonomy. I’d like to keep my access to it. If that means getting my mommy to pull some strings so I can keep playing with you, then so be it.”
He folded up the notice and put it in his pocket. Then he slipped his leather jacket on. I may have made a sound of protest as he covered up the arms and chest that had been the only thing to bring me relief in days. When he made his way past me, I reached out and grabbed for him.
“Wait.”
He paused, and turned to look at me. His lips were set in a firm line that warned me not to challenge him. But his eyes were soft as they regarded me, filled with something I hadn’t seen aimed at me in a long time; compassion, kindness, and care.
Did he actually care about me? Or was I so tired and weary that I was projecting it onto him? I didn’t know. I didn’t really care. I just wanted to be near it for a while longer.
“I’m coming with you,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eagle’s mom was not what I expected. She had tightly curled hair that framed her oval-shaped head like she was a queen. Her wide eyes narrowed on me, taking me in and holding me in place, like she was a warrior assessing a new foe.
For the first time in a long time, I was the first to look away. Judge Oluyemi Obademi was an intimidating woman. She turned her gaze back on the papers that her son had handed her after introductions.
“I’m sorry,” said Judge Obademi, slapping the notice down on the large oak desk of her home office. “But I can’t help you.”
My chest deflated and my shoulders caved in. I hated to admit that I had gotten my hopes up.
“You don’t see any loophole or technicality that she can use?” asked Eagle.
His mother picked up the paper again, but even as she reached for it, she shook her head. “It looks like that property is getting purchased for development. It’s worth more demolished. I take it you’re not Ms. Long.”
“No,” I said. “Victoria is my live-i
n slave.”
Eagle cleared his throat.
I turned to look at him. He quirked an eyebrow at me. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t hide my lifestyle.”
I expected him to go into a huff that I’d put my kink on display in front of his mother. Instead, he lowered his brow, and the corner of his mouth rose. Warmth rushed through me. Any other guy would be ushering me out of the room, making excuses, or at least sweating bullets. Not Eagle
“Ethelbert,” said his mom.
Now my eyebrows rose. “Ethelbert?”
He sighed heavily as he turned his attention back to his mother. Mrs. Obademi looked between the two of us. Her gaze lingered on her son in a question. Eagle held her gaze with a smile I’m sure got him out of chores many a time. Then the judge settled her gaze on me.
“I’m sorry, my dear, but your only option is to sell.”
I shook my head. “Toy, Ms. Long, is agoraphobic. That house is her safe place.”
“I see that it’s her sister that’s filed this paperwork,” said the judge.
“She’s a selfish, unfeeling bitch.” And then, when silence followed my comment, I glanced over at Eagle, who had a pinched look on his face, and then to his mother, whose arched brows were nearly touching her crown of hair. “Sorry.”
“In my line of work, I see a lot of blood relatives tear each other apart for the wrong reasons,” said Mrs. Obademi. “It’s not often that I see individuals fight for one another for the right reasons. It looks like that’s what you have here with your…Toy. The best I can do for you is to tie up the paperwork for another week or two, give you a chance to find some place new.”
“Thank you.” I stood to rise, but felt something tethered to me, which slowed my progress. It was Eagle’s hand. His fingers slid inside my fists. Then his fingers slid between each of mine. He was holding my hand.
“Thank you, mama,” he said as he leaned over the desk and kissed his mother on the cheek.
“I would like you home for dinner one night this week while your brother’s in town,” said his mother.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mrs. Obademi’s gaze turned to me. “You can bring your…friend.”
Eagle tugged me out of the door and then out of the house before I could respond. His hand was the only thing holding me up. When he let my fingers go, I nearly protested. But his arm came around my shoulder and his hand gripped my forearm. I felt completed, supported, and entirely frightened.
I had screwed everything up, but somehow there were arms around me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been held. I was so weary that I let Eagle wrap me up in his arms.
He wasn’t trying to sweep me off my feet. He was holding me up, helping me to stand strong on my own two feet. My forehead came to rest on his chin. He kissed my temple and told me it was going to be okay. My body betrayed me and I gave him all of my weight.
“I quit my job today,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“They gave someone else my promotion.”
“Then they were stupid.” His stubble brushed my ear as he spoke.
“I was stupid. I shouldn’t have quit. Now I need to look for a new place and I don’t even have the money to do it.”
“You know you two can come and stay with us.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “Toy could never handle being around that many people on a daily basis.”
Eagle caressed my back and shoulders, just like he’d done in the shower. It wasn’t sexual. It was just to make me feel good. It was such a foreign feeling. I realized then that I had been intimate with this guy on more than one occasion, but I’d never actually fucked him.
“I assume you won’t take any money from me either?” he said.
“You assume right.”
“Not even if it was a loan and I charged you a stupid amount of interest?”
“You’re not a stupid guy.”
“What if I knew of a job opening that could use your special set of skills. It pays a stupid amount of money. But it’s not always legal.”
I leaned back and looked into his handsome face. We stood just outside his family’s front door. The porch light backlit him and he looked like he was glowing in his leather jacket. A dark night in shining Armani.
“I keep expecting you to disappoint me or turn on me,” I said. “Can you hurry up and do it so that I can stop being so anxious.”
“If I fucked you over, would you let me anywhere near your pussy?”
“No.”
“There’s your guarantee.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
We were out in the middle of nowhere, as this was not a sanctioned race. My job was as a part of the medical staff in the very likely event of an accident. If an ambulance was called, the patient would be taken to a hospital and then, likely, to jail afterwards. I’d already been handed a fat wad of cash for my services. It wasn’t enough to keep the house, but it was enough for a security deposit on an apartment.
I stood in the medical tent and spied Eagle in the distance. He leaned under his car’s hood with Hawk at his side. He wore a dark jumpsuit that clung to his athletic form. I pulled my bottom lip in with my teeth thinking about how much I wanted to be that jumpsuit.
With my pre-race duties done, I wandered away from the tent. Scantily clad women sashayed through the stands, leaning over the railings and brandishing their tits and asses. They weren’t just eyeing the male hot rods on the track; they were scoping each other out as well. There was curiosity in their eyes as they fell on me.
A lot of the men gathered leered at me even though I was in my scrubs. I arched a brow at each of them. I curled my lips at the ones who didn’t immediately drop their gazes. I made a mental catalogue of the ones whose pupils dilated with interest.
Walking around, I completely understood the draw of the racing world. This was a virtual playground. I wasn’t interested in the speed of the cars. I was interested in new playmates.
Without even planning it, I ended up at the Watchers Crew car. Two women stood nearby arguing.
“You sucked his dick at the last race and look where that got him,” said a redhead with thick, ruby lips.
The second woman, a brunette, put her hands on her barely covered hips and glared at the redhead. The red head cocked her head and her gaze shifted to me. The brunette turned and they both glared.
“There’s already a line,” said the redhead.
“For?” I asked.
“To suck Eagle off before the race,” said the brunette. “You know, for luck.”
Before I could respond, I felt a hand come to rest at my low back. Any other man and he’d have lost not only that appendage but one further south and more dear. But my body instinctively yielded to this man.
“Hey,” Eagle said into my ear.
His hot breath sent a shiver down my spine. I inhaled the smell of him, already so familiar in just a couple of days. His strong chest at my back made me want to turn and curl up in the center of him.
“You good?” he asked.
His lip grazed the tip of my ear. I couldn’t help myself, I leaned back. My head rested at the crook between his neck and shoulder. “Yeah. We were just debating who would get to give you your pre-race blow job.”
I felt his head rise to look in front of us. “Hey Rain, Josie.”
Both Rain’s and Josie’s gazes were fixed on the hand Eagle had wrapped around my middle.
“What did you decide?” His lips were back at my ear.
“I decided…” I turned in his hold, placing my hands on his chest and gazing into his hazel eyes. “…that two rounds of head are always better than one.”
He chuckled. His eyes sparkled as he looked down at me. That dark gaze dipped to my lips as though he wanted to give my mouth some head. Instead, he tugged his bottom lip into his mouth and backed away from me slowly.
“You coming to watch?” His thumb rubbed circles on my hip before he let me go. His other four fingers dug into the sta
rt of the V that separated my thigh from my pussy.
“Can’t,” I said with a regretful twist of my lips. “Gotta get back to the medical tent.”
Eagle’s brows drew with that same turn of regret as mine. “I’ll catch you after the race? I got something to show you.”
“Definitely. I want a rematch at the party tonight.”
His grin spread wide, replacing the regret with anticipation. “You’re on.”
He dipped his head. Instead of capturing my lips, he placed a lingering kiss at my cheek. When he pulled away I knew he’d missed his mark. But his intended target was territory he didn’t yet have permission to enter.
Eagle turned and headed into the pit with the two girls trailing eagerly at his heels. I turned and headed back toward the medical tent. As I wove my way through the racers, someone stepped in my way.
“Hey, look who it is.”
I looked up to see the passenger-side-scrub from the Nazi street race a few nights ago.
“It’s the Watchers Crew mutt.”
I felt like I was in a Guy Ritchie film where the hero envisions how he will kick the bad guy’s ass in detailed, slow motion steps before he lifts a finger. Then time reverses and speeds up and the bad guy is on the ground in fast-forward. But this bad guy didn’t go to the ground like I dreamed. I kept my fists at my sides. I’d already blown one job. I wasn’t about to lose this one, too.
“Hey, soul sistah? Chicka?” he said. “What the fuck are you any way?”
I took a couple of steps towards him. He was surrounded by other men who looked like carbon copies of him; shaved heads, hatred in their eyes, and menace in their faces. Their chests were puffed up like little boys playing at being men.
“What I am,” I said, “is more man than you’ll ever be. Come on big boy, whip it out and let’s measure our dicks. See whose is bigger.”
He blinked. Off to the side, someone choked on a laugh. Then another person. Passenger-Guy grit his teeth then he marched up to me. Anger and intent radiated off his jumpsuit-clad body.
Slippery When Wet Page 12
